Unless they are acting recklessly, dying companies don’t regularly return cash to shareholders. They don’t buy back a billion dollars’ worth of stock.

They don’t declare high-yield liberty checks.

This coal company is hardly acting recklessly. Contrary to popular perception, the coal industry is alive. It’s thriving for the strongest coal companies.

Yes, it’s true enough that coal demand in the West is contracting. The downtrend in coal consumption is the result of reduced coal use in the electric-power sector. Utilities are switching to other energy sources, natural gas being the go-to source.

That said, coal is still heavily demanded by U.S. electric utilities.

Coal-fired utilities produce 28% of U.S. electricity. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects coal-fired electricity production to hold near this percentage into the distant future. It should hold through 2040.

While the West may wither, the East blooms.

Chinese imports of thermal coal rose to 16 million tonnes last year. India imports rose to 25 million tonnes to fill the gap in domestic production. ASEAN imports were up 23%, driven by ongoing urbanization. (Vietnam coal imports rose 55%.)

Liberty checks can be a powerful signaling mechanism. They can signal management’s positive outlook. This coal company’s management expects business this year to be as good, if not better, than last year.

The coal company’s liberty check is worth collecting because its liberty vouchers are worth owning.

The liberty vouchers hold the key. They enable their owners to collect the liberty checks.